


Rainy Days

by foxjar



Series: Postmortem Photography [1]
Category: Persona 5, 零 濡鴉ノ巫女 | Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Genre: Anal Sex, Bottom Kitagawa Yusuke, Crossover, Established Relationship, First Time, Insecurity, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Post-Canon, Supernatural Elements, Top Kurusu Akira
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:27:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxjar/pseuds/foxjar
Summary: When Akira disappears — leaving only a strange note behind — Yusuke goes to look for him."Sometimes people find more than they bargained for," Miu says. "Sometimes it's too much. Sometimes people are better left lost."Yusuke doesn't think there could be anything up on the mountain that would dissuade him from his course. If Akira has truly ventured there, that is the only reason he needs to go. He may no longer be a Phantom Thief, but his desire to protect those important to him hasn't dissipated.Akira is worth the risk, whatever secrets the mountain might hold.
Relationships: Hinasaki Miu & Kitagawa Yusuke, Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira
Series: Postmortem Photography [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793560
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40
Collections: A Ficathon Goes Into A Bar





	Rainy Days

**Author's Note:**

> On the Fatal Frame side, this takes place after Miu's "The Shadowborn" ending.
> 
> Yusuke/Akira bang time is backstory in this.

It's raining the first time Yusuke and Akira make love.

Yusuke's eyes are glued to Akira's face, watching the curiosity dance in his eyes as his hands explore. Their bodies can't be that much different, can they? Yusuke doesn't think he's anything special, after all.

But Akira makes him feel like he's gold, fingers tracing the curves of his chest. Yusuke hands clench the sheets, twisting them between his fingers to try to keep his body from squirming. He knows Akira — trusts him and loves him — but that doesn't change the fact that this is all so new. A small part of him is terrified at the implications: of opening himself up to another person at last, of being laid bare and seen like never before.

The glue holding his gaze begins to dissolve. Yusuke blames the tears building up in his eyes, a well of tears just waiting to pour over the stone rim. He turns away, eyes closed as Akira touches him where no one has touched before — where he never imagined anyone would want to venture. His hands move slowly down Yusuke's hips and across his inner thighs. He's so ticklish there, but it's Akira's hands on him; he keeps telling himself this.

He wants those hands on him more than anything.

The sensations prickling his body are more intense with his eyes closed — the softness of Akira's hands, the heat of his erection pressing against his leg — but he can't keep them closed for long. It's all too much to feel, too much to see.

When he looks out through the window, the sky is gray even as the sun slides over the horizon. He hears the rain against the windows, feels Akira's fingers easing into him, and he thinks he might have found the most beautiful thing in the world: to love and be loved.

To live.

Akira moans when he's finally inside him, rocking into him. When Yusuke rests his hands on Akira's shoulders, he can feel that he's shaking — holding himself back.

Yusuke looks into his eyes and wants to tell him every thought that's running through his head, but there's too much to say. The sound of the rain drowns out his thoughts, but it can't drown out his gasps.

There's the rain, the sweat, the tears.

 _To live is to love,_ Yusuke thinks. _To love is to live._

The vulnerability washes over him in a wave as he gives himself to Akira, allowing him closer than he has ever let anyone. No one has ever kissed Yusuke or told him they love him — not until Akira. If it were from anyone else, he might think of it as a joke.

Akira makes Yusuke feel like it's all so real. He isn't watching life pass him by, soaking in the sights and sounds secondhand; he is experiencing life as their lips brush and bodies meet in a frenzied passion.

If Yusuke could muster words right now, he would thank Akira.

_Thank you for loving me._

* * *

When Yusuke wakes up, the rain has stopped and the bed is cold beside him. He's still half-asleep when he reaches out for Akira, but Yusuke is alone. His pillow still smells like him — the fading scent of coffee and the detergent he uses to wash his clothes — and Yusuke presses it to his nose, keeping it close.

Worry shouldn't be creeping so easily into his head, worming its way through him. But it does, and despite everything that he has been through together with Akira over the past few years, he's still apprehensive.

Sometimes he'd imagine that one day he'd wake up and Akira would be gone. Akira would tire of him; Akira would find someone else to shower with affection. Someone different. Someone other than Yusuke.

He hasn't thought about these insecurities for a long time, but here they are, rearing their ugly heads again. Madarame helped to instill a fear of betrayal in him — a fear of being left behind and alone.

Yusuke waits, but Akira never returns.

There's a note on the nightstand, but even after he's read it, the words still don't feel real. He grips the paper so tightly that it tears. When he thinks about how it might be the last thing Akira will ever give him, he sets it back on the nightstand and tries to smooth it out.

The note reads:

_I'm sorry. I had to go._

_I love you._

Akira's name is signed in that careful, elegant script that Yusuke loves. His boyfriend has always had that unique way of weaving passion into everything he does — even the things he isn't the best at, like drawing. Akira has always tried his best, always putting his heart into everything he does. It's one of the things that Yusuke loves the most about him.

Writing his name is no exception, especially once Akira saw how much it delighted Yusuke. He'd be signing his name when Yusuke would peer over his shoulder, not hovering on purpose, but Akira with a pen in his hand always drew his eye. Then Akira would exaggerate the swoops in his name, turning to kiss Yusuke before he could remark on his penmanship. It was such a small thing, but it was just for the two of them.

Now Yusuke is mimicking the strokes Akira would have used to write his name. His finger traces the lines on the paper, reliving each memory.

Why did Akira leave? Where did he go, and does he intend to return?

The note seems so vague and yet so final. He sends a text to the ex-Phantom Thieves' group chat, asking if they know anything about Akira's disappearance. Before long, his phone is lit up as his friends attempt to call him, but he's just staring at their text messages. He couldn't bear to hear their voices right now, to listen to the same questions that Yusuke has been asking himself for hours now.

From what he can tell from the group chat, no one has seen or heard from Akira. His friends are worried.

Yusuke's worried, too.

All that's left of Akira now is the ache in Yusuke's hips and the note he left behind.

Yusuke, too; he's still here.

His life is proof of their love.

* * *

Before Akira disappeared, he and Yusuke spoke about visiting Mount Hikami. Yusuke had heard about the culture surrounding it: how water was once revered there, with an entire religion unique to the area. Once he saw photos of the mountain online, a flame of inspiration lit in his head and he was lost to the world.

But not to Akira. It was Akira he made pose for his painting, naked midst the water's darkness. Visiting the mountain started as a joke, but Yusuke liked the idea.

They could see the mountain together.

It's this painting that Yusuke sees when he finally drags himself downstairs. The painting is propped up against the wall across from the couch — in the exact spot Yusuke has so often stared at while Akira brushed his hair.

It couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

A final calling card, perhaps. From his Joker.

The mountain is northeast from Tokyo, and he arrives late in the afternoon after fumbling his way through the train system. He brought nothing with him other than his wallet, along with a small sketchpad and pencil to help pass time on the train.

Nestled in the forest at the base of the mountain is a small town. There aren't many cars that Yusuke has seen, and the architecture of the buildings looks old but elegant with their delicately curved roofs. Most of the buildings are made of wood without any sort of paint to cover the material's natural splendor.

It's all beautiful in the way it emanates a sense of peace, but he wasn't supposed to come here alone.

He was supposed to come here with Akira.

Yusuke is stumbling his way down the dirt road — alone and without clear direction other than knowing that he has to make it up onto the mountain somehow — when he finds an antique shop. The sign says "Antique un Cafe Kurosawa," but what grabs Yusuke's attention is the picture on one of the sandwich boards: a steaming coffee cup filled to the brim.

It's that one image that comforts him. He steps inside the building, breathing in the smell of fresh coffee and old wood. There's a woman sitting behind the counter and another sitting at the small table against the opposite wall. The woman behind the counter looks Yusuke up and down, but she says nothing.

Like Leblanc, this mix of a cafe and antique shop has its own unique charm. The room is full of old furniture: dressers, tables, and various knickknacks. Although none of the pieces on display speak to Yusuke, he can see why they might appeal to someone else. He can feel the history hidden within each object, building up beneath the ancient wood.

"You're not from around here," the woman from behind the counter finally says. She slips around the antiques on display with ease, coming over to stand next to Yusuke.

Her dark hair trails past her shoulders, lining up with the curve of her collarbone. Although they're just meeting now, she already seems irritated with him as she stares up at him. One hand rests on her waist, her fingers running along the ruffles of her shirt absentmindedly.

If they had met under different circumstances, Yusuke would have asked her to model for him. He can see the painting in his head now: the water's surface rippling as the woman gracefully glides across it.

As much as it pains him to ignore that artistic drive in him, Yusuke isn't here for that.

"People come here to find things," the woman continues. Her eyes are the epitome of darkness, drawing Yusuke in. "Is there something you've lost?"

Yusuke nods. "Yes. Someone."

At this, the woman steps away from him. The grimace on her face would be unnerving if Yusuke didn't find it so captivating.

"We don't — we aren't supposed to do that." When Yusuke asks her to clarify, her eyes return to him. The moment of vulnerability is over, and she frowns. "Sometimes people find more than they bargained for. Sometimes it's too much. Sometimes people are better left lost."

Her words remind Yusuke of when he was a Phantom Thief. Before then, he had so desperately clung onto the false reality set in front of him. He wanted to believe that Madarame was the man that he presented himself as: a remarkable artist who inspired the masses, Yusuke included.

Learning the truth was difficult for him to adjust to, but it was necessary. If he hadn't seen through the lies, he wouldn't be the man he is today.

Yusuke doesn't think there could be anything up on the mountain that would dissuade him from his course. If Akira has truly ventured there, that is the only reason he needs to go. He may no longer be a Phantom Thief, but his desire to protect those important to him hasn't dissipated.

Akira is worth the risk, whatever secrets the mountain might hold.

The woman introduces herself as Hinasaki Miu. After the customer sitting at the table leaves, she makes a fresh pot of coffee for her and Yusuke. They sit at the once occupied table sipping at their mugs. It doesn't taste like Leblanc's coffee, but the comparison is due to his apprehension. The quaint cafe is making him homesick, yearning for the life he had that all seemed to end once he woke up.

"What did you find on the mountain?" Yusuke asks. He watches the way Miu holds her cup, her fingers tracing the porcelain rim.

"I found my mother," she says, offering no clarification. Although Yusuke knows nothing about Miu's past and why her mother would have gone to the mountain, it's that one word that strikes him.

Mother.

It's a fanciful idea, but what if the mountain could be a place where a person's loved ones might live forever? A sort of heaven on earth, hidden in plain sight and yet mingling with the local culture. If such a place were to exist, Yusuke imagines its beauty would rival even the fictional depictions painted by his favorite artists.

But, of course, such a place couldn't exist. Within the Metaverse, Yusuke saw another side to the world that he never imagined existed in a tangible form: the collective human consciousness, living and breathing just as he does. As tranquil as a paradise on earth might be, the Metaverse is as close to that as he likes to imagine.

What a godlike entity might think is the best for humanity isn't always that cut and dried.

"Was it worth it?" Yusuke asks, setting his cup on the table. "Whatever answers you found in the end?"

Miu nods. There's a deep sadness in her eyes, but Yusuke doesn't pry; instead, he asks her if she regrets her journey to the mountain.

"I — no. I'd rather know than live my life without answers. I had to know what happened to my mother. Why she left me to go to the mountain."

"Then you understand," Yusuke says. "I am the same."

_I would do anything for Akira. Anything._

He reaches for her hand — maybe if she can feel the way that he trembles, she will understand how desperate he is — but she quickly pulls her hand back, toppling her empty cup.

"I'm not going back up there," Miu snaps. "I won't."

"That is quite all right. I will make the journey myself. Tell me how to get to the mountain, and I will leave you in peace."

Instead of answering him, Miu stands up in front of him as if to keep him from leaving.

"That would be reckless," she says. "You don't know the area, plus you're a — a man. Women get drawn in too. But men tend to be captivated by another sort of spirit entirely."

At first, Miu has her arms spread wide, defiance swirling in her dark eyes. But then she lets her arms fall, reaching for Yusuke's hand with her own.

It only lasts for a moment, but when their hands meet, Yusuke feels like his breath has been sucked out of him. Something has been pulled from him.

"You can't help him if you're dead," Miu says.

When Yusuke looks at her now, there's something more to her — something dangling at the edges. Her mystery enraptures him even more; although he came here to find Akira, he's been thrust into a strange web he never could have imagined.

"How do you know that I am looking for a man?" Yusuke asks, amazed that she could deduce that information.

"I've seen him. He has glasses, short dark hair, and he might've been wearing a white-collared shirt. Around your height, maybe, but I can't be certain."

The excitement in Yusuke's eyes is reflected back up at him through Miu's in a mirror of emotion.

"He has been here? You've seen him?"

Relief floods through him. Akira is here; someone saw him.

"It's not what you think," she says. "I saw him when I touched you."

Miu tries to explain her ability to Yusuke: how she can see into a person's past by touching them. The power also extends to objects, which she can use to follow the path a person took.

After describing Akira with such accuracy, who is he to distrust her word? After the things he saw in the Metaverse — even knowing of its mere existence — he's been more inclined to believe in things that defy logic.

But more than that, Yusuke wants to believe.

"Do you have anything of his?" Miu asks. "Anything that belongs to him?"

In his wallet, Yusuke has a strip of pictures that he took with Akira at the mall. Their expressions range from smiling, to fake anger, then back to laughing. He brushes his thumb across the last picture of Akira kissing the top of his head.

Once the photo strip is in Miu's hands, she closes her eyes. Then she's leaving the shop without a word, waiting for Yusuke to follow her outside before she locks the door behind them.

Even as the sun sets, a reddish glow over the horizon, they make their way to the looming mountain. The rain is only a light sprinkle now, misting over them.

Near the base is a station with cable cars that run up and down the mountain. The station itself is dirty and abandoned; the flyers stuck to the walls are unreadable after years of rain.

Yusuke has never been sensitive to supernatural occurrences before, but something about the place feels wrong. Once they're in the cable car and making their way up the mountain, vertigo swims through him. He stands up and clutches at one of the seats as nausea rises in his stomach. They are moving upwards, but something in him feels like they are descending — down into the unknown — and the two directions tug at him.

Miu just looks out the windows as the thick forests pass them by, seemingly undisturbed. Despite their ascent, the creaking of the cable car, and the last rays of sunlight finally disappearing, she remains calm.

Once the anxiety starts to die out — the feeling that he needs to be as far away from here as possible — he sits back down. He's a few rows down from Miu, but he can still make her out in the darkness: how she's resting her chin on her hand, elbow propped up beside the window.

"What made you decide to help me?" Yusuke asks.

The cable car groans and shakes, but their ascent continues.

"When I touched your hand, I saw him. The man you're looking for," Miu explains. "But I saw someone else, too: your mother. I thought maybe you understood — missing a mother's love. And then your memories of that guy came flooding in, and I just didn't want you to have to lose him, too."

Losing Akira. The thought alone pains him.

Who would Yusuke be without his beloved muse?

"You did not wish for me to lose someone to the mountain like you did," Yusuke says, and in the darkness, he thinks he sees Miu nod.

When the cable car finally stops, Miu leads the oblivious man out into the gloom. The ground is soft beneath his feet as the mud sucks at his shoes. He looks up into the black sky, and the moon is nearly hidden by the trees.

The mountain welcomes them with rain.

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about how to get both Miu and Yusuke to meet in an interesting way, and I ended up adding a lot to the backstory. This is post-canon for both games and both characters have gone through their respective journeys, but I thought it'd be interesting to throw them into another conflict.


End file.
